Vintage girl caught in the swell of the modern world.

One of my favorite things is finding hidden gems in purses, pockets, and cubbies of things I bring home. I find some very strange and interesting items and decided to start a new blog series documenting them to share with you!

Today I was looking through a box of pocketbooks for Autumn and pulled out one I’d forgotten about having. Cool! It’s like shopping in the luxury of my own home and not spending anything else to boot!

The little envelope is from the Elizabethton Floral Company in Elizabethton, Tennessee, formerly located at 424-426 Elk Avenue. It has aged tape over the addressee, but it either says “Bride” or “Prude”. I’m going to bank on Bride, but I’d like to think someone was so bold as to send flowers addressed to someone as “Prude”!

Inside was a tightly folded piece of generic notebook paper with a handwritten letter in pencil. The writing is cursive and looks masculine. Unfortunately the paper is quite brittle and the pencil is starting to fade.

Here is the transcript, all spelling and punctuation is as it appears on the original:

Dear Nell,

Maybe you think I have done a lot of things that isn’t right for a Christian.. and I know I have my self. I’ve been thinking about speaking to you for sometime, and mentioned it to Jean but, I couldn’t pick up enough courage until Sunday night.

Forget all that has been done and said if “Possible” I’m sure I can – and forgive to. And if I’ve said a lot of things. I’m sorry maybe I was mad when I said them. Just forget it all, because I have. We can be friends again that is if you care to. I feel so glad to know you aren’t mad at me. Please I’ll try to be nicer to you if you wish to be friends.

Yours,

That’s it.
It just ends like that. Yours.

WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DID YOU DO?

I need to know! Did you send this with flowers or tuck it in an envelope from a keepsake drawer. Did you make up? Who is Jean? WHO is Nell?

I may be able to shed light on one of those questions.
Last year, I purchased a large lot of goodies from an auction in Elizabethon and the name Nell is one I have found throughout several boxes. I know nothing of the person herself, just artifacts that I believe to be associated directly with her. Although I do not recall purchasing a purse at that sale, it’s possible. It’s just as possible I picked it up elsewhere in the area. Of course, as I make my way through them, I’ll share if I find out more.

So tonight I made “fajitas” I think….I was just trying to use up stuff I had in the pantry and fridge.

I’m getting back on the “mostly clean” train. I’ve always been a fan of making things fresh and and keeping it simple. Have you tried looking up “easy recipes” on Pinterest? I know I’ll get excited to make something because of the picture and there are 20+ ingredients some of which I’ve never heard of or are exotic and not carried in my little city. It gets frustrating.

Tacos are a weekly standby here, but I do like fajitas and it was time to mix things up! After dinner, the hubz told me he’d pay for this out at a restaurant. I got a good laugh. Growing up, my family regularly replicated favorite dishes from eateries at home. So my ability to pull meals out of thin air is truly a gift I am thankful to both my parents for (as I am sure Thomas is too). For this meal I went straight for my trusty yellow Dansk enamel casserole dish. It is my oven workhorse, I seriously use it for most everything I cook in the oven.

Atomic Squirrel Fajitas

3 medium chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into strips

1/2 green bell pepper thinly sliced

1 small yellow onion thinly sliced

1 can yellow corn; drained

1 can Rotel with cilantro & lime

2-3 large cloves garlic; minced

1.5 T chili powder (a light dusting across it all)

1 T cumin (a light dusting across it all)

1 T salt

Put all ingredients in a oven proof casserole dish, mix well. Cover and cook on 425° for 50 mins or until chicken is done. (I stirred and re-covered around the 30min mark) Uncover and cook for another 10-15 mins to brown it up.

*I used a mandolin slicer for the pepper & onion.

I hope you enjoy this meal at your home, and as always, I love to hear what you think!

Spring is upon us and I’m feeling the need to scrub and clear out the house. I don’t wear vintage or retro every day and I do own sweat pants (shhhhh! It’s our secret!). On most days I try my best to dress like me though. I love finding uniform tops that have a retro flair when thrifting because it gives me something to clean in, that isn’t rags. Nine times out of ten, I end up needing to leave the house for something and this way I still look put together even though it’s utilitarian. Plus they have huge pockets!

I keep my makeup simple on “around the house” days — that way if I have to make a run to the store I don’t look too haggard. I take my foundation and mix it with both primer and moisturizer. Just a dot of each on the back of my hand swirled together. It evens the complexion without being too done. Dab on some concealer, a touch of liquid blush, lip gloss, caramel eyeshadow, mascara, and then dust with a mosaic brightening powder. Five minutes. Done.

Keeping my hair out of my way is important too, because I’m not going to worry about styling it if I’m just going to wash it out after a while anyway. Sheer scarves are my favorite for this type of day or when it’s super humid.

It’s pretty much a standard that I’m going to wear a brooch. I made a handful of these custom ice cream cone brooches and have sold all but one. It’s waiting for a “flavor” if you’re interested let me know.

When I was in Jr. High, my textile arts class learned to batik. I remember how frustrated some of my classmates were with the breaks and bleeds of the dye that make a batik, well…a batik. I fell in love with the uniqueness of the process. The inability to duplicate that piece of art ever again is fascinating. I own a few batik style prints. This one is one of my favorites. I wore a copper coloured cardigan and swirled bangle (not pictured) with caramel coloured flats.

This is an Art Nouveau style brooch that I thought paired with this dress nicely.

It was perfect outfit for our double date to a local burger and wings joint. Not too fussy.

It was feeling Springy outside and it was a very welcome change! I needed all the colour I could wear at once and definitely found it in this slightly psychedelic dress. I realized though that I am lacking in bangles. I’ll have to hit the markets this summer to remedy that. Everything I have is “warm” or red. I added hot pink bakelite hoops and a very 60s pair of necklaces. I think this is going to be my “cruise” dress assuming I ever go on a cruise.

I am in LOVE with this Rimmel Scandaleyes liner! It doesn’t smudge (unless you want it to), is creamy and goes on easily, it’s a pinch to control the drama of the line and when it says water proof…they mean it. I’ll be buying more of these, although I don’t know whichones yet, there are tons of colours too!

The remover really takes it all off in just a couple of swipes.

I received this item courtesy of influenster and rimmel for testing and reviewing purposes.